Tradition
by theproudandtheprejudice
Summary: "Before you get upset, it's tradition and I'm required to make you do this with me since we're dating."


Lily and James both woke when a sudden weight pressed against their feet, wrinkling and pulling the sheets that covered them. It was an abrupt and incredibly rude awakening, but little else could be expected of Sirius Black.

"James," Lily said, her eyelashes barely brushing against his chest. "Your boyfriend's on the bed."

"I resent that," James breathed, draping his arm over her torso as it rose and fell steadily. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, his lips brushing against her pale skin, flushed from sleep.

"I'm offended," Sirius mumbled into the duvet, flailing his arm to hit Lily's leg.

"Watch it, Black," She said, kicking him in retaliation before shrugging James' arm off and turning over. She pulled a pillow over her head, dark tendrils of red hair falling out from under it and onto the white sheets.

They laid on James' bed in an uncomfortable, sleepy silence until James sat up, the covers falling off his bare chest and onto Lily.

"Why am I awake, Padfoot?" He asked, rubbing his right hand over his tired eyes and drooping lids. It slipped up into the beginning of her hairline, his head lulling back against the wall.

Sirius sighed, disappointment laced through his elongated breath, and stacked his fists on top on one another. He rested his chin on them, then let his head fall so that his cheek was pressed against his hands.

"It's the last Sunday we're at Hogwarts before holiday, you prat."

"So?" Lily asked, peeking out from the shadows under the pillow and taking a sharp intake of breath when the covers were pushed off of her entirely. She felt the bed shift as James got up, the springs squeaking so loudly she felt like they were directly next to her ear.

"So? _So?_"

"I haven't told her yet," James said, riffling through his things for a moment before pulling on a shirt. "I knew she'd say no."

"Told me what?" Lily asked, propping her head on her hands, her elbow bent and sitting on the mattress.

"How could you not tell her?"

"You're overreacting."

"You should have told her weeks ago!"

"It's not like she'd be any happier about it if I'd said anything in advanced."

"Would you two stop talking about me when I'm right here? You're making me feel like we're going to kill some poor bloke." Lily huffed, blowing loose strands of hair out of her face as she threw her pillow. It clipped Sirius' side midsentence.

"Just tell her already," He said, glaring at Lily as he practically rolled off of the bed. He patted her shin once he was standing. "Go ahead and get dressed, love. We have a busy day ahead of us."

Lily looked over a James, who was wearing a guilty smile and had his glasses pushed up into his hair so that the bangs flopped back, the tips pointing towards the ceiling.

"What haven't you told me?" She asked slowly, and an eyebrow rose as she drew the covers back around herself so that she was wrapped in a cocoon. "Is it bad?"

"No, it's not bad."

"Oh. Good."

"Were you worried it was going to be something bad?"

"You never can tell, can you?" Lily said. James shrugged, throwing clothes at Lily from a drawer she kept some of her things in.

There was a beat where neither of them spoke. Lily got dressed, albeit reluctantly, while James made his way to lie down again, fiddling with his wand.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing, then?" She asked, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to comb out the frizz that had grown during sleep.

"You won't like it."

"That's a horrible excuse." She chided, pulling on James' hand to get him off the bed. "Don't pout, it's not becoming of you."

He pouted anyway, though he got out of bed and kissed Lily quickly before leaving his dorm with Lily in tail.

"What was that for?"

"You're full of questions today."

"You're being more secretive than usual."

"You're-" He froze. "Shite, I don't have anything to come back to that with."

She grinned, squeezing his hand playfully. "Where are we going?"

"The Great Lake."

"Oh, Merlin. Why?" Her grin deteriorated slowly as she became more and more anxious.

"Before you get upset, it's tradition and I'm required to make you do this with me since we're dating."

His eyes kept shifting between her and the ground, and Lily suddenly felt very ill. James, confident James, rarely looked so shady and it always tended to throw Lily off when he did.

"What am I about to do?"

"First off, it's not a big deal and it's not as bad as it sounds."

It was a big deal. It sounded horrible and Lily was sure it would be even worse than it sounded when all was over with. She was tired and cold, and afterword she was going to be even colder. For heaven's sake, she wasn't even that strong a swimmer. James knew that, but for some reason beyond her she still had to run into the Great Lake with him. _In the middle of winter._

"Ready?" James asked and she shook her head vigorously. She was pinned between James and Remus- who she had previously thought to have more sense than one would to do this willingly- and she held Remus' hand in her left and James' in her right.

"I'm never going to be ready for this. I hate you. I hate every single one of you."

"Don't be such a baby," Peter said from the end of the line, leaning over to smile at Lily. "It's really not that bad."

"Really not that bad," She repeated. "Lovely, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"Good," Sirius said. "Because we're going."

And then they all started running towards the water. Lily went with them without another protest.

The water stung at first, cold against her legs, and it pulled goose bumps to the surface of her skin. The deeper they went, the more she felt herself grow more accustomed to it though a great amount of discomfort remained.

"Christ," James said, his lips turning blue as they all stopped. "This is almost as cold as fifth year."

"It's bloody freezing," Remus nodded, crossing his arms in a weak attempt to warm them.

"I hate you." Lily said, making a poor attempt to push James. He grinned down at her, pulling her towards him and wincing when water splashed above his waist.

"You don't hate me."

"I do. I really, really do."

He kissed her slowly, and it warmed her, spreading through her body in waves each time his lips found hers.

* * *

**This was my first year doing Jily Secret Santa, and I'm so sorry it isn't better than this.**


End file.
